In the last week, I decided to spend a little quality time with bezelled cabochons? To bead, or not to bead, that is the question! Of course, that’s not really the question, as I have no intention of not beading!!! Yes, I could surround it with a silver, or copper bezel, but for me that would be too much work!! I know! Working with little tiny beads, isn’t really work, is it? I’ve had a love/hate relationship with bezelled cabochons for years. Take this one, for example: I probably started this piece at least ten years ago. A plus-sized Howlite …

What do you think of the term Bead-a-Muse? Or perhaps I should call it Craft-a-Muse? I was actually thinking of writing about collecting beads, in this blog post (and believe me, I do!). However, my ideas tend to be fluid, so somehow collecting ended up as a post about Bead-a-Muse. When I Googled Bead-a-Muse, it came up with a variety of very different images, including dolls, some beaded objects, and a collection of miscellaneous images. Not exactly what I was looking for!!! Here’s my first muse – Fibrella!! Some have even called her my alter-ego! Could it be our inner …

What do you think of, when I talk about things that go bump in the night? It’s Halloween on this side of the world, so definitely a current topic! Image – Wikipidia Okay, maybe not everything goes bump, but there are definitely some scary things out there. Especially on this particular night!! Ghoulies and ghosties, and not to forget creepies and crawlies!!! My skin gets goose bumps, just thinking about things that go bump in the night!!!! Do you suppose there’s a beading genre that celebrates this particular holiday? No, I don’t mean the Mexican Day of the Dead, because …

My October 2018 Bead Mat Update was almost a bust! Once again, I don’t have that many finished projects to show. Sigh! What’s up with that? Then I started to list everything I’ve accomplished (err, purchased) in the month. That’s where it all began. I spent Thanksgiving up north, with family! During that period, I did manage to re-string a necklace, and finish another of my Stitch Meditations (#97). The necklace is a combination of Czech seed beads, and some Rose Gold plated Hematite. I loved the combination, when I spotted it on the wrist of one of our customers! …

When I talk about bead embroidery, I’m normally discussing the intuitive type. However, that’s not the only art form out there! Image – Robin Atkins Where did bead embroidery originate? I’m sure that there are readers that will know more than I do on this subject, so I hope that those people (and you know who you are), pipe up with a little more information. I’d like to start with a definition according to Wikipedia: “Bead embroidery is a type of beadwork that uses a needle and thread to stitch beads to a surface of fabric, suede, or leather. Bead …

Though later than normal, autumn sparkles if you take a good look around you! I need to talk about beads, but I also want to talk about autumn leaves. Couldn’t this post be about both? I rarely work in autumn colours, but I actually created an entire Bead Journal Project (BJP) series, working with fallen leaves from 2014. I collected, pressed, and bead embroidered a series of 12 leaves (actually 13, but I didn’t like one of them). I’m really a blue/green type of girl, but I did slip in a couple of fall colours! All suitable for pendants, or …

I must admit that peyote stitch is my favourite bead weaving stitch! I adore the simplicity of this stinking stitch! Believe it or not, I actually followed the rules, in the early days! The three bracelets shown below, illustrate the start of my addiction! The one with the bugle beads, was made in a class I took with Marilyn Parker & Maureen Warland (George Brown College), many, many years ago. I ripped that sucker out, many times, before finally getting with the program!!!! I did make one more bracelet, of this type, before vowing never again! Heh, heh, ladies…but I …

When I started thinking about my September 2018 Bead Mat Update, I thought that I really hadn’t accomplished much this month. But I was wrong! During the “Back to Class” event, earlier this month, I played with the Freeform Peyote Bracelet, that I had started in my last class. I need to decide on a closure of some type. I think one of my bead embroidered buttons, will finish it off nicely. Rose Gold Plated Hematite rounds, pair nicely with these Czech 6/0’s, to make a simple necklace. This one is around 30″ long, and will look maaavelous dahling, with …

You don’t know what you’re missing, if you’ve never worked with beads and felt! Okay, beads on their own are undoubtedly delicious, but there’s an added something special, when you stitch them onto felt. No, not craft felt silly, but richly textured wool felt! It’s absolutely delightful!!! I love working with wool felt! It started off with a simple, wet felting play date with friends! Then I combined some of those pieces with fibre, beads, free motion, and hand stitching. A few were sold, but others remain in my possession. Pre-beading obsession, if you please! This piece of felt was …

Here’s the thing about the perils of collecting, they’re impossible to resist!!! Once a collector, always a collector! I’m a collector, and not a hoarder!!! A collector is “A person who collects things of a specified type, professionally or as a hobby”. But a hoarder, according to the Urban Dictionary is “A word that describes anyone that feels the need to find, collect, keep, pack ANY and EVERYTHING because they do not know how to throw things away”. Okay, I’m one of those people who do have a hard time believing that enough is enough! Yes, I did sew clothing …